We're still here...

We've been a bit absent from the blog world lately. It seems like when other people don't blog for awhile they come back with a super-blog announcing some big life change - new job, new house, pregnancy, etc. Well, we don't have anything that monumental to report, but we just felt like we couldn't end the year without at least some type of update. So here we are 24 hours from the new year with a quick review of the past 2 months.

November:

Melinda's grandmother from Ohio came to Charlotte for a couple weeks over Thanksgiving. We got to show Granny our new house, celebrated Thanksgiving with both our families, and had a combined birthday party for Granny (85), Chris, and Elissa (both 25). As if all the Thanksgiving and birthday celebrations weren't enough for one week, we also decided to buy a Ford Escape that same weekend (it wasn't nearly as spur-of-the-moment as it sounds - we'd been planning it for awhile).


December:

The first weekend in December we went with Jonathan's family to Sparta, NC to get our Christmas tree. This is a Grey family tradition, but was Melinda's first time to participate. We had a lot of fun and it even snowed!


Next up was Melinda's birthday (27th) on the 13th. Chris and Elissa came back to Charlotte and we got together with the Moore family for a birthday lunch at Cheesecake factory. Yum!


All this pretty much led us right into Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day with both sets of families and got to visit with some of Jonathan's best friends on the 26th. Amazingly, the Wii made an appearance at all functions. :)



We've had a really great/busy last two months, but one of the most exciting things for us is that we have finally found a new church. It's taken us awhile, but we feel like Life Fellowship is where God is leading us, and we're excited to see how he will grow us and use us in the body there in the coming year.

Happy New Year!

A Long Time Coming...

This past weekend I got my hair cut -- something I haven't done since March 2007. I had been growing my hair out to donate it, and since I don't really look good with short hair (read Q-tip), I had to wait until my hair was long enough to have something left after the required 10 inch donation. This was by far the longest hair I've ever had, and I was not at all sad to see it go. Here are the before and after pics.

The Virginia Creeper Trail

So here is the promised post about our trip to the Virginia Creeper Trail (we know you've been dying of anticipation.) It was a lot of fun; we would definitely recommend it to anyone. We posted pictures here. And below is a video I put together...

The Big 2-7

This past Saturday was Jonathan's 27th birthday. This is the first birthday in three years that Jonathan hasn't been out of town on a business trip, so we were definitely looking forward to celebrating together. So Friday night we had dinner and cake with both sets of parents and Joanna at the Greys' house--one of the new perks of living near family :) We even got to "Skype" with Matt, Haiden, and David and they joined us in a lovely rendition of "Happy Birthday" from 8000 miles away in Okinawa.

We decided to get bikes for each other as a combo B-day/Christmas present this year. Since Jonathan's birthday came first, I got to enjoy my present early. On Saturday, which was Jonathan's actual birthday, we met Chris and Elissa in Virginia for a 17-mile (downhill!) bike ride on the Virginia Creeper trail. (Separate post coming soon.)

Labor Day '08

This past Labor Day weekend was filled w/ family and fun. Chris and Elissa came and stayed with us on Friday as our first official "overnight guests". Then Saturday night both families came over...sans Matt, Haiden, and David :( It was a Thank You dinner for 5 months of rent-free living and moving day help and a belated birthday celebration for Jonathan's dad.


Then on Sunday we spent the day on Lake Wylie w/ Melinda's family. We weren't sure how tubing behind a pontoon boat was going to be, but we were pleasantly surprised at how much fun it was. Dad's boat's got some juice ;) See below:





We both hate the following picture, but it's healthy to laugh at yourselves, right?

On a side note, Jonathan worked in a local Lowe's store this past week as part of his new employee "indoctrination process". Melinda couldn't resist getting a picture of him in the red vest when she met him for lunch on Saturday.

Moving Day, Finally!

So this past weekend was the big move-in. It was definitely a contrast to our "move-out" in May from New Bern where we had a plethora of manpower on hand to get the job done (thanks again New Bern Crew!) Moving in was quite a challenge, logistically and temperature-wise, but thanks to our selfless and loving family we got it done without a hitch (just a few sore backs.) It's ironic that the main thing we took pictures of was moving the fridge in. Later the next day once we got the water line hooked up to it and tested the water dispenser we were treated to a nice refreshing glass of ant water. Yeah, a bunch of dead ants!

But besides the ant water and having to take the Jeep to the shop to fix the radiator, the move went as well as we could ask. We can't thank our family enough for all the work they did. We love you!

We are so thankful to be in this house now and are looking forward to a lot of great years here. We've got plenty of space for visitors, so come one and come all! We'd love to see you.

Back to Work I Go....

Well, I (Melinda) have thoroughly enjoyed my mini-summer vacation. These past 6 weeks have absolutely flown by. I thought I would be bored after the first week, but between looking for a job and working on all the tasks that come with buying a house, I really stayed pretty busy. But now it's time for my break to end. I will start my new job on Monday. For those of you who haven't heard yet, here are the details:

Company: Ingersoll Rand

Location: Davidson, NC (8 miles away from our soon-to-be home in Huntersville)

Position: Operations Financial Reporting Analyst (a long title, I know)

Description: I'm sure I'll have a better explanation of the job once I get in there and start doing it, but here's what I know so far. I will be working at the Corporate Headquarters for the Industrial Technologies division. I will be compiling and analyzing financial information from 19 factories around the world. Since the industry is manufacturing, the environment will be somewhat similar to my previous job. The main difference is that instead of focusing on all the details on the factory-side like I did at BSH, I'll be looking at factory information from a corporate perspective. Should be an interesting change.

We definitely feel very blessed right now. It just seems like everything has been falling into place for us lately. I know the economy and the job market aren't the greatest at the moment, so finding this job (in a relatively short amount of time, with a great company in an area that is close to our house, and with functions that pull from my previous experience that I once thought was too random to relate to anything else) just feels like complete proof of God's handiwork. We are so thankful!

July 4th 'Wii'kend

This past weekend we went to Blowing Rock with the Moores to celebrate the 4th. Despite off-and-on rain showers all weekend, we were able to get in some fun activities. We went hiking on Grandfather Mountain, saw two fireworks displays, went to the Blowing Rock parade, and played golf at a great mountain setting Par 3. As chance would have it (no, really) Jonathan happened to find a Wii in stock at a video game store while on his lunch break the day we left (we've been looking for one for weeks as a 'house warming' present to ourselves.) And so even though we got rained out from playing real tennis, we made up for it by playing Wii tennis (see video below).

The Pops & Friends

Last Sunday night we went to "Pops in the Park" which is a free outdoor concert series that the Charlotte Symphony does every summer. We picked this particular week because it was going to be all Broadway music. What we didn't count on was getting rained out after the second song (see picture below.) It was a fun time nonetheless.

And today (Saturday) we finally got to meet David Eaton, Zach and Amy's beautiful, 10-month- old son. They were on their way up from Warner Robbins to Hertford/Virginia Beach for a family vacation and stopped to see us for a couple hours. It was awesome to see them...it's been way too long.

The Latest

Just wanted to write a quick update since we've been radio-silent for the last few weeks. We've been super busy of late, but the busyness has paid off and we have some good news to report. 1) We found a sweet house(!) in a great neighborhood(!) in Huntersville and are set to close on it July 29. We're really excited and can't wait to start putting down some roots. 2) As of next Monday, Jonathan will be an actual Lowe's employee instead of a contractor! This is a big blessing since it provides more job security (which definitely comes in handy when applying for a mortgage). We feel overwhelmed and humbled by God's provision and perfect timing in all of this!

Here's a picture of the house. More to come once we actually get in there.



And here's a random picture of Jonathan from Lowe's Employee Appreciation Day recently...

A Fond Farewell

To our BFG friends,

We love you and will miss you. Thanks for all the priceless memories. You've blessed us more than you know. Here's a look back at some of the good times we've had. Keep in touch, and come visit us (did somebody say IKEA grand opening road trip?)

Two Peas and Their POD

So today was moving day. The turnout was incredible--we could have raised a barn with the amount of friends and family that showed up to help. We can't thank you enough for sacrificing your Memorial day to help us. We truly appreciate it. It's a testament to the power of collective genius how much we were able to pack into one 16'x8'x8' "POD". All that Tetris practice when we were younger (or not) really paid off. Here's a few pics of the "main events":

Daniel can sleep anywhere!

Playdate!

Sweet Victory!
(and yes, the door closed)

Oops.

So today I did something pretty clutsy (yeah, Jonathan, not Melinda.) In an attempt to retrieve my keys from my pocket to unlock the door for Melinda (so maybe it was her fault?,) I all but threw my keys into the street run-off grate. Unfortunately, the camera was in my pocket when I had to get down in the "sewer" to retrieve the keys after a helpful bystander and I removed the grate, or else we would have a funnier picture to post =)

Counting Down...

In case you haven't heard, we sold our house and are closing May 30th. So as of Friday the 30th, we will both be Charlotte. Only 13 days to go!

RaceFest 2008

This past weekend was great! I went to Charlotte and got to spend a couple days with Jonathan visiting family and just hanging out. It was a very busy two days, but one of the highlights was cheering on my brother and sister-in-law and some of her family as they ran a half marathon around the South Park area of Charlotte. It was fun to see and cheer for everyone at various points along the route (start, 4 mile, 10 mile, and finish). It was also just really exciting to witness Chris and Elissa accomplish the goal they had trained so hard for over the last several months.

Here's a picture of us with C&E after they finished.



Video of Chris crossing the finish line.

Elissa and her dad coming up on the finish. Still smiling after 13 miles!



Way to go Moores, Brittons, & Corwin!